Dog Barking is a completely normal behavior for any dog, especially for new puppies that are still young. Dog barking may be used for communication, protecting, excitement, or even for the usual whining. To them, they may have a really good reason to bark, but for us, it may be annoying at times and turn into a big problem later on. Use these steps below to stop dog barking.

Now before we get into the solution(s) to stop dog barking, let’s go over the DO NOT’s on how to stop your dog from barking.

Do not yell at your dog to stop barking. He will just think you are barking with him.

Do not hit your dog to get him to stop barking. This will just lead to him relating your hand with pain. You do not want this to happen because he may snap at your hand one day when you try to pet him thinking “pain is coming”.

Do not use shock collars. Everyone may have their own opinions on this matter, but I feel that they are somewhat inhumane. Shock collars can cause a dog severe pain and discomfort depending on the voltage you set the shock collar to be at. Shock collars may even lead to even more barking and/or aggression to whatever your dog is barking at.

Do not start something you can’t finish. If you are planning to stop dog barking, do it. Don’t try one week, give up, then try again and etc… This will just confuse your dog on whats right and whats wrong. Be consistent.

Find the Reason for Dog Barking

The best way to stop dog barking is by finding out the reason(s) why your dog is barking in the first place. This may be due to playing, excitement, response to a stranger, response to the door bell ringing, response to someone knocking on the door, or just plain boredom. Some dogs may even bark because they don’t like where they are being confined, like their cage, room, or wherever else you may be housing them. Once you find out the reason, you can better approach the problem.

Remove or Fix the Problem

Sometimes a simple fix is the answer to your dogs barking problem. Your dog barks for a reason and once you figure out that reason like mentioned above, just remove or fix the problem.

For example:

If your dog is constantly barking at the doorbell, remove the doorbell. Have people knock instead.

If your dog is barking at the people walking by outside, put up some curtains or shades to block your dogs view.

If your dog is barking from inside of its cage, lay a cloth over it, so he is not stimulated to bark by what he sees. Or try getting him a bigger one. Maybe the space is too small.

If your dog is barking for you to play with him, play with him or buy him a few chew toys to keep him entertained.

And etc… The list can go on and on.

The key here is to satisfy your dogs needs. There’s something that your dog wants, and he will always ask (bark) for it until he gets it. Either remove the motivation for him to want it, or give it to him.

Go back to Basics

Teaching your dog to ‘come’ when called is the best way to get your dog to stop barking. Most dogs aren’t taught this and therefore do not listen to their owner when being called and just keep barking. If you teach your dog to ‘come’, your dog will come to you when being called upon and will be concentrated on you instead of whatever your dog was focused on for barking.

Ignore Dog Barking and Crying

You know who you are. Once you put your dog in it’s cage, it will start to cry and bark, and you immediately take him out to stop the barking and crying. This is not a good approach to stop dog barking. The best way to deal with this is to let your dog bark it out until he gets tired or eventually gives up. If you constantly keep taking your dog out of its cage when he barks, you are telling him “if you bark, you can come out”, and he will always bark to come out. This is why your dog barking problem will never end. The next time, try giving your dog a small treat for going into the cage, then another treat when your dog comes out of the cage. But only do this when your dog is no longer barking. Never offer treats while your dog is barking or this will develop new bad barking habits. Use training cookies that are tiny when you do this so you don’t fatten your dog up with the large regular dog cookies.

Exercise Your Dog to Stop Dog Barking

There’s this old saying, “a tired dog is a good dog” and it’s true. The more tired you get your dog, the less likely your dog will want to bark. Depending on the age and breed of your dog, exercises may vary from small walks around the neighborhood to a couple of runs around the neighborhood. Make sure to buy a few dog toys as well to keep your dog entertained and busy, rather than being entertained on other things like the doorbell, mailman, and etc.

Hopefully this “how to stop your dog from barking” article has helped you. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below or ask a question on the dog forum here.